Since the federal government entered its partial shutdown nearly three weeks ago, real estate agent Austin Auen has had to tell a handful of young, first-time homebuyers they won't be able to move in yet.

Because the U.S. Department of Agriculture is almost entirely closed during the shutdown, Auen's clients in more rural parts of Delaware haven't been able to get their USDA-backed home loans.

"I just feel like a pawn," he said. "I don't know what to tell them, that there's absolutely nothing that can be done."

A sign at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge said the area is closed during the government shutdown, which affects the Fish and Wildlife Service(Photo: Maddy Lauria/The News Journal)

The USDA-backed loans are a popular option for younger buyers in qualifying rural areas because they require no down payment and have lower fees than traditional loans.

But with the USDA offices in Delaware closed, Auen's clients have their plans on hold.

"My business is halted until this moves forward," he said. "Everyone in the transaction is affected. It's at a standstill."

Auen, whose office is in Dover, is not the only Delaware business owner who expressed frustration and disgust with Washington over the shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history.

"What are we going to do? Close up shop?" Baxter said. "No, because we've got a business to run, and we overcome the adversity that the children in Washington have created for us."

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President Donald Trump, in a prime-time address, blamed Democrats for the government shutdown.
USA TODAY

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night escalated the fight over Congressional appropriations to fund the government, addressing the country in a prime time speech from the Oval Office to demand a $5.7 billion wall along the southern U.S. border.

Democratic Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi fired back in their response and blamed Trump for holding federal workers hostage over what they called an expensive and unnecessary wall.

Baxter said he supports a wall or barrier at the border, "to keep out drugs and people that are out to do the citizens harm."

But he said he supports legal immigration and the rights of people to seek asylum in the U.S., and wants all sides in Washington to find a "happy medium."

"I'm hoping that they all can learn to get along, that this rift between stubborn people can change," he said.

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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered the Democratic response to President Trump's Oval Office address Tuesday. They called for Trump to reopen the government while differences are worked out. (Jan. 8)
AP

And until then, he said, "I really wish we could take their pay away from them."

Richard Wilkins of the Delaware Farm Bureau is also a soybean farmer. He said he's feeling a "tick upward in anxiety" over how the shutdown may continue to affect farmers.

The USDA won't be issuing its market reports, which Wilkins said many farmers rely on to help with prices. Other incentives and programs farmers use are also halted, he said.

The agency on Wednesday extended its deadline to apply for the trade war mitigation funds to make up for the shutdown.

"As a whole, the general feeling of the agriculture sector may be that we need bipartisanship," Wilkins said.

Bob Older of the Delaware Small Business Chamber echoed that sentiment, while saying he wanted to stay politically neutral.

"Both sides need to grow up and do what's right for the American people, not for their own parties," Older said.

Older said he's having conversations with the chamber's members about the shutdown, and that there's been confusion among businesses over whether their tax filings will be processed with much of the Internal Revenue Service closed.

Small businesses are also unable to access training programs and services at the temporarily shuttered Small Business Administration.

Those looking to start a business are currently unable to go to that agency for loans.

Auen, the Realtor, said he also wanted to be politically neutral, but said he felt Trump's Tuesday speech did not convince him his business had to be halted over the border issue.

"I just think they should open the government and then talk about border security," he said. "[My clients] don't know the process of why the government shuts down. They just can't get into their new home that they've already spent a lot of time and money on."

Are you a Delawarean being affected by the partial government shutdown? Share your thoughts with Jeanne Kuang at jkuang@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2476. Follow her on Twitter at @JeanneKuang.